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  • Swad

    First batch of Leopard rumors

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    Last year's WWDC changed the world. Well, ok, maybe just the computing world. It certainly led to the creation of this site, faster Macs, universal apps, and bright future for Macs (not to mention almost full Windows compatibility).
     
    While this year's WWDC is not likely to be as exciting, it still promises a lot of fun. Mac OS Rumors has what I believe are some of the first real “insider info” rumor reports... that is if you can find it among the sea of advertisements (Thank you, Adblock Filterset.G).
     
    The highlights:
     
    Faster is better. Leopard is reported to fly on Intel processors due to heavy improvements in compiling for Intel. This was something most of us were expecting, but it’ll be a welcome improvement.
     
    Better widgets. The article wasn’t terribly clear on this point, and while it doesn’t sound that exciting, apparently widgets will find better integration with the system.
     
    Unified theme. We knew this was coming – Mail.app look throughout.
     
    Re-introduction of Quartz 2D Extreme. Oh! I had been looking for that... ???

    Did we mention teh snappy? “We're talking about 100%+ performance boosts in many benchmarks that are dependent on compiler optimization, GPU acceleration, efficient use of multiple CPUs and high-bandwidth motherboards, etc.....and 40, 50, 70, 80% boosts in many others.”
     
    Should be interesting to see how these pan out.
  • cavemonkey50
    With all the problems that MacBook owners have been reporting, I thought it would be a good idea to give you the complete scoop on my new MacBook. Since I've had my MacBook for about two weeks, I think I can finally say that I've given my MacBook enough time to show any trouble spots. For the most part I've been fairly lucky. Since I went to an Apple store the day after they received a new shipment (I called ahead of time to make sure), I received the latest build at the time (week 24), thus receiving the latest fixes for the numerous problems which have arisen.
     
    Black and Blue MacBooks
     
    One of the biggest issues which MacBook owners have reported are the heat issues. While my MacBook certainly does get hot, in my opinion it's nothing out of the ordinary. My MacBook will idle around 55C and get up to 80C depending on how much processor power I require at the time. While the temperatures certainly are a little toasty, it hasn't stopped me from using my MacBook on my lap in shorts. Sure, the first day I used it I thought it was a little uncomfortable, but since then I've either gotten used to the heat, or the first day damaged my skin cells so I can no longer feel pain. Either way, it works out in the end for me.
     
    One of the other major problems with the MacBook in white has been discoloration. Derek Punsalan has been raising awareness of the issue ever since it happened to him. In his unfortunate case, he went out of his way to cover up his MacBook to prevent discoloration, and was only rewarded with an ugly yellow finish. Due to his campaign against discoloration and the hundreds of bloggers who supported him, I can say that I don't have the issue at all. Since Apple was made aware of the issue, they have changed the plastic to a much smoother material; one which doesn't change with time. Since I have a later MacBook build, I have been lucky to get the new plastic and avoid the issue completely. For the unlucky MacBook owners with an ugly top case, Apple is replacing the affected portion with no questions asked, so be sure to get that done.
     
    Out of the other well known issues, I have experienced none of them. I have yet to hear the mooing of a cow coming from the back of my MacBook, so I'm safe on that front. As far as AirPort reception goes, it couldn't be better for me. I've taken my MacBook to previously thought WiFi dead zone in my house, and have been surfing with ease. I've also avoided power adapter humming and the ever so popular melted MagSafe. So, on the well known fronts, I've been good so far.
     
    Other Concerns
     
    I'd wish that I could say I haven't had any issues at all, but I can't do that - I have experienced some very minor issues which aren't that well known. One of the first is crappy sleep times. While most of Apple's laptop fleet can stay days in sleep while only loosing a few percentage points, my MacBook looses about 10% of its battery every eight hours. While it's nothing that will greatly affect my battery life, since I'll either be plugged in or shut off, it's a minor inconvenience. Unfortunately there isn't much I can do, as I've been told by the people over at Broadband Reports that the extra 2GB of RAM installed is drawing more power than normal. Oh well.
     
    Another minor issue which I have experienced has been insanely long Lead-Out times when burning a DVD. When burning a 2-3 minute DVD, my Lead-Out step can take as long as 6-10 minutes. That's roughly 4x longer than it takes to burn the DVD. Luckily I've gotten some help from the Apple support forums and so far my burning times have been normal. If for some reason the problem reoccurs, it's nothing I'm going to worry about since I don't burn DVDs that often.
     
    In the "that affects every manufacture" category, my screen developed a stuck pixel about a week ago. Within minutes of noticing it I was able to successfully rub it out, only for it to reappear later that night. After seeing it a second time, I rubbed it out again, this time while playing one of the stuck pixel videos. Since then I haven't seen it again, but if it decides to come back I feel confident that I'll be able to take it down once again.
     
    In the "that's freaking weird" category, I've on occasion smelled some sort of burning chemical coming the MacBook. I initially thought it was just the MacBook's "new car smell," but since I don't smell it all the time, and I still smell it two weeks after my purchase, I have a feeling that it's not normal. Apparently a few other people have noticed this problem, claiming it irritates their nose and throat. It hasn't irritated me at all; in fact, I think it smells quite good. Maybe I'm just a druggie at heart.
     
    All in all, my MacBook has been wonderful. I've avoided all the well known major and minor issues, but have experience a few issues of my own. Luckily none of my issues have dramatically affected my MacBook, so it's nothing which makes me doubt the MacBook and Apple's quality control. If I can never find a solution to my problems, I will still love my MacBook for years to come.
     
    So, if you've been reading all the issues about the MacBook Pro and the MacBook, and are thinking to yourself that every unit is broken, think again. Apple has at least one customer with a working MacBook with no complaints to file. I just think what we've been reading about these laptops is only the opinion of a small minority, much like Microsoft's issues with its 360. Sure, a few people have units which are complete {censored}, but the majority of people's MacBooks are working perfectly fine, giving them no reason to tell anyone about it.
  • Swad
    One of the features that most people have been expecting in Leopard is virtualization, allowing folks to run Windows right alongside OS X without the need to dual boot. Not that we've had any real rumors confirming this fact - I'm fairly sure it's one of those "we've talked about it so much that it'll probably happen" kind of rumors that are so familiar in Macdom.
     
    Well, Phil Schiller just rained on our parade. Maybe.
     
    An interview with a some guy (I'd give you the name, but you'd forget it... like I did) who talked with a roommate's wife's therapist's sister Phil at an Apple store had this to report:
     
    “I had a talk with Phil Schiller at the opening of the 5th Avenue Apple Store, and I asked him the question, ‘will Apple include a virtualization solution in [the next version of Mac OS X] Leopard.’ He said ‘absolutely not, the R&D would be prohibitive and we’re not going to do it. Our solution is dual boot.’ When I saw Parallels come out, I thought Apple would dis it, but this page suggests that Apple will actively support it.”
     
    Ok, first of all, any high paid analyst shouldn't be using the word "dis" in an interview. 'les he be bitchin' like Stevie and them MBPs. Fo shizzle.
     
    So, is Boot Camp a good enough solution or should Apple do more?
  • Swad

    Magnetic RAM a reality

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    With the increasing use of flash memory in everyday devices, it seems like the days of the venerable hard drive may be coming quickly to a close. This is especially true with Freescale's (remember them?) announcement of commercial availablity (read: real world) of "magnetoresistive random-access memory" or MRAM.


    Sometimes referred to as "universal" memory, MRAM could displace a number of chips found in every electronic device, from PCs, cell phones, music players and cameras to the computing components of kitchen appliances, cars and airplanes.
     
    "This is the most significant memory introduction in this decade," said Will Strauss, an analyst with research firm Forward Concepts. "This is radically new technology. People have been dabbling in this for years, but nobody has been able to make it in volume."
     
    Electronic memory is ubiquitous in today's world, but each flavor of memory-chip technology has different strengths and weaknesses. Often times, a single device has multiple types of memory chips to take advantage of the benefits of a particular technology.
     
    Static and dynamic random access memory chips, used in PCs and elsewhere, are fast but lose data when the power is switched off. Flash memory chips, which are commonly found in music players, cameras and cell phones, retain information but are slower and degrade over time.

    Anyone else excited to see this in a MacBook with an 8 hour battery life?
  • Swad
    Why do I hate Excel? Maybe it's because I learned to use it back in the gray-on-black-on-gray days of '98 when the interface was gross looking and the things I actually had to insert into the spreadsheets were pretty gross too. Like, numbers. With decimals. That needed formulas. Ick.
     
    So while I'm not Apple's target audience with "Charts" I do think it might cure me of my spreadsheet trepidation. ThinkSecret is reporting that Apple will release in January an addition to iWork (at this point the only unibin office suite - another plus) called Charts that is to Excel what Keynote is to Powerpoint.


    "Long rumored—or at least, assumed—to be in development, sources say Apple is not planning on positioning Charts as a competitor to Microsoft's Excel, but rather as a more consumer-friendly spreadsheet application that can handle the needs of home users and small businesses but not pretend to execute any of the more advanced functions of Excel. Nonetheless, Charts will support importing and exporting Excel formatted documents, as well as legacy AppleWorks spreadsheets, and Apple is hoping the performance of Charts will at least rival that of Excel, sources report.
     
    Future users can also expect Charts to sport the same integration with Apple's other applications as current versions of iWork and iLife do. Rumored to be at the top on the list is a built-in media browser, drag-and-drop support of spreadsheet and chart data in new Mail messages, and some level of Address Book interoperability."
    That's fine by me. Anything to 1) put less money in the hands of Microsoft and 2) put less time into making spreadsheets sounds great to me. And you?
  • Swad

    Happy Birthday to Us!

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    It's been exactly one year since we launched these forums and, to celebrate, we're doing what we always try to do: make things better and have fun.
     
    First, we've reorganized the forum to a much more logical structure that'll last us for at least the next 10 years. Things are easier to find and there are also more places to talk about the things that are important to you, like photography, web design, or deep UI tweaks. It might take you a little while to get adjusted, but trust me, after using it for a few days you'll find that it makes a lot more sense. We'll still be moving a few things around for the rest of this week, but the bulk of it the (massive) transition effort is done (thanks to our awesome staff).
     
    Also, in honor of our birthday, we're going to be giving out 4 $86 gift cards to newegg! 4 forum members will be chosen randomly from our member list, with each post you've made counting as one entry! We'll announce the winners later this week.
     
    Finally, we had planned to make the transition to insanelymac.com today, but due to some unforseen difficulties (like our designer's HD dying) we're going to push that date back until later this month. Our team is so excited about all the features we're doing for insanelymac that we don't want to release it until it's ready (otherwise we might as well go with InsanelyVista.com). So stay tuned for more info in the coming days, along with a sneak peek at the forum skin.
     
    Enjoy! And thanks for making our 1 year birthday such a great one!
     

  • Swad
    Bill Gates may not own an iPod, but when it comes to Macs, he... oh. Wait. Nevermind. Not like he matters any more anyway.
     
    Is Microsoft getting a little Mac love these days?
     
    Best caption for the picture wins. Mine?
     
    "Look at my hands... this is the kind of Vista delay we're expecting."
  • cavemonkey50
    Hello everyone, I'm cavemonkey50 and I'm the new guy on OSx86 Project. Well, I'm not really the new guy. I've been around here for a while, but I'm the new writer. You may have read some of my OSx86 articles from my personal site on Digg in the past. Mashugly has asked me to write for OSx86 Project, and that's exactly what I'm going to do.
     
    To start off this article, you should know a little bit about my Mac background. About a year ago I had never used Mac OS X in my life. Back then I never even saw a Mac computer in real life. Sure, I knew what they looked like, and I saw demos of OS X during Steve Jobs' keynotes, but I had never used a Mac. Although I had never used a Mac, I was still Mac-curious. Being an iPod and iTunes user, I was already familiar with the design and functionality of Apple, and being fed up with Windows at the time, I looked toward Mac OS. There was one problem, though. Macs were expensive, I had a limited budget, and I wasn't going to spend everything I had to buy a computer I had never even used.
     
    Then Steve Jobs revealed the future of Macs at WWDC 2005. Macs were going to be running on Intel. That announcement instantly got my head spinning. Maybe I could run Mac OS X on my current PC? I apparently wasn't alone. Since there was a number of people who wanted OS X on generic hardware, fake copies started spreading around. After several fake copies, a real leak was finally released, and thus began my journey into OSx86.
     
    The first time I ran OSx86 was at school using the Deadmoo image. I had to run OSx86 on a computer at school since my home computer did not support SSE2 CPU instructions, a requirement for Mac on x86 hardware. My first OS X experience was rather crappy, since the computer at school sucked, but that didn't stop me. When Christmas rolled around, I took that as a great opportunity to build a "real" OSx86 machine; one that could support accelerated graphics and supposedly run as well as a real Mac. So, that's exactly what I did. I built a machine that was identical to Apple's Intel developer kits, and installed OS X on it. From then until now, I have been manually installing every single OS X update, mainly using Maxxuss' instructions.
     
    Enough about my OS X history. Flash forward to today. I bought an Intel MacBook on Thursday and sold my Hackintosh on Friday. To keep the lawyers happy, I should mention that I sold my Hackintosh with the hard drive wiped clean, and did not provide the disks necessary to install OS X on the machine. So, basically I went from never using OS X in my life, to buying my first Mac in about nine months. I would have bought my Mac sooner, but it took me this long to save up for one. So, with that said, I thought it would be interesting to compare an install of OSx86 to a real Mac and see how well OSx86 stacks up.
     
    The Updates
     
    I guess I should start with the most obvious, updates. The major difference between a real Mac and OSx86 is updates. The minute Apple releases an update, I can now download it. Back when I used OSx86, that processes took quite a while. You could never tell if an update was safe. You had to wait for someone to test the update to see if it was safe. Then if it wasn't safe, you had to wait a few days for someone to come up with instructions on how to install the update; usually bypassing the files that were causing problems. Then a week or two later someone would crack the files that were troublesome, you would add those files to your update, and then the easy installers would start appearing for the people who didn't want to manually install. So, if you manually installed, you usually had the updates in days, with a second update a couple of weeks later, and if you were a noob, the update took a few weeks until you could install. Now with a real Mac, updating is no longer a problem.
     
    Within the updating process, it should be mentioned that OSx86 users couldn't always take advantage of updates. Often the OS point updates contained performance enhancements tailored to specific Apple hardware, so while Mac users may have been reporting major performance enhancements, OSx86 users were still running at the initial speed. The reasoning to that is along the way Apple has caught onto what the OSx86 scene has been doing, so they have been removing things that apply to generic hardware, forcing OSx86 users to use the original files. The best example of this is the kernel. In 10.4.5 Apple pulled the power instructions for generic x86 CPUs and started using power instructions tailored to the Intel Core chips. Since the majority of the OSx86 scene do not have Core CPUs, the 10.4.4 kernel has been used ever since. So, whatever performance enhancements Apple applies to the kernel, OSx86 users never see. The same thing apply to the drivers. While OSx86 users are seeing the new features and bug fixes of every release, they never fully take advantage of hardware fixes and enhancements.
     
    Everything Works
     
    The next major difference between Hackintosh and Macintosh is everything works. To run a perfect OSx86 install you either need to be lucky, or build a machine tailored to running OS X. Many OSx86 users have sound cards that don't work, wireless cards with no connectivity, and do not have accelerated graphics. Sure, OS X runs on those machines, but people miss out on a lot of the functionality.
     
    Looking at my own install of OSx86, I had to do some wacky things to get certain functionality. Since OSx86 didn't like my wireless card, I had to run a wire from my Hackintosh to my Windows machine, using Windows' to share its wireless connection with my Hackintosh. Sure I got internet, but my Hackintosh was never part of my real network. The Windows machine created a network just between it and the Hackintosh, thus preventing my Hackintosh from sharing files with the rest of the network. Then there is Front Row. In order for Front Row to work, I had to hook up an separate USB mouse, using the mouse's USB profile to fake it was a Front Row IR receiver. So, the majority of OSx86 users either have something that doesn't work, or they're doing something crazy to get it to work.
     
    Performance
     
    The next major difference I noticed between OSx86 and the real OS X is performance. Now I'm going out on a limb here, since my switch from Hack to Mac was a substantial hardware upgrade. I went from a 2.5 GHz Intel Celeron to a 2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo, from 1GB of RAM to 2GB of RAM, and from an Intel GMA 900 to an Intel GMA 950. As you can see, I have a feeling the majority of what I'm noticing is from that hardware upgrade and does not have anything to do with custom tailored Apple hardware. I'm still going to mention my findings though, because they may mean something to someone.
     
    The first major difference I noticed is with the video. Animations run smoother, and things just feel snappier. On top of that, colors look more vibrant. Previously I felt that the colors of OS X were washed out and never looked that good. I calibrated the color profile several times, and could never get it looking the way I wanted. Now with my MacBook, the colors look great and no longer suffer from that washed out look. I should probably clarify here, since I know I'm going to get some person tell me it's because of the glossy screen on the MacBook. I'm not comparing the screen of the MacBook at all. I'm comparing the colors of OS X through my LCD monitor. I should also mention that I have re-calibrated the MacBook's color profile, so it has nothing to do with the color profile that ships with the MacBook.
     
    Yet another performance enhancement I have noticed has been Rosetta. Previously on OSx86, I dreaded every time I had to use a PowerPC application. The performance of Rosetta was so bad I could barely use it at all. Word was so slow it couldn't even keep up with my typing speed. I couldn't even get Photoshop to load without leaving my computer on overnight. Alright, that last statement was a bit exaggerated, but it certainly did take a while. Now with a real Mac, Rosetta runs like Apple's been demoing since day one. I can barely tell that Word is a PowerPC application and Photoshop runs well enough that I no longer have to switch to Windows for my Photoshop work.
     
    Conclusions
     
    So, that brings me to the crux of this article, is OSx86 good enough as a real Mac? Being an OSx86 user for sometime, I can say that the hacked version of OS X isn't too far off from the real thing. By running OSx86 you certainly have all the features that real Macs have, but you miss out when it comes to performance. You can keep your operating system up to date, but it takes some time until you can finally install the updates, and on larger updates you often miss out on hardware enhancements. On top of that, just to run OSx86 you need to have the right hardware, otherwise you'll be missing out on key features of the OS, or end up doing some funky things to get them to work. So overall, it's not bad, you just have to do some work to maintain the operating system.
     
    Now of course, you need to keep in mind that there is always the threat of Apple putting an end to the OSx86 community altogether. Sure, OS X may work on generic PCs now, but when 10.5 Leopard comes around, Apple could easily add things that prevent generic machines from functioning. You could always use the last version, but I know how I function when I don't have the latest and greatest. I feel like I'm missing out on something, and I hate that feeling.
     
    I personally think that OSx86 is perfect for what it's there for. I look at it as a transition point. It's a way for geeks who might not have the chance to try OS X and give it a test run. If they're curious like I was on using Mac, they can try it without the high costs of buying a Mac. If they like it and they're interested in becoming a serious Mac user, they'll buy a Mac sometime down the road. It may not be immediately, but at some point they will buy one. I say that because I can't see anyone going through all the trouble of updating the OS for the rest of their lives. Eventually it will get annoying and the person will either buy a Mac or go back to using Windows.
     
    So, in my opinion, OSx86 is a perfect for a certain group of people. It's not something that you're going to run as your main machine for the rest of your life. You're going to try it for a while and then either go back to Windows or buy a real Mac. I don't think Apple has to fear OSx86, since it's not meant for everyone. The people who are going to use it are potential Mac users, and OSx86 is simply their trial disk.
  • Swad
    As many of you know, I just returned from a two-week trip to Africa to carry out relief work in some feeding centers throughout Kenya and Tanzania. I have made relief trips in the past, to places like Mexico and Ecuador, but never have I seen such poverty on such a wide scale.
     
    Our community here at the OSx86 Project is passionate about technology, but it doesn’t take too many trips to impoverished nations to realize that as fun and exciting as OSx86 may be, there are more pressing issues that can literally mean life or death for whole populations of people.
     
    So, in order to ensure that this community is as responsible to the world community as it is the technology world, we’re launching a new “Donator” status to the forum. There are two ways to obtain this status: either making a donation to this site to help with hosting costs (a label given by most other popular forums) or by giving one of 12 charities that we will be featuring on a monthly basis. Each charity will be handpicked by the staff for their credibility (i.e. how much of donations is used for “administrative costs” vs. actual help) and effectiveness in making our world a safer, cleaner, or healthier place to live. If you have any suggestions for charities you’d like for us to feature, let us know!
     
    The Donator status will bring some special privileges along with it, like the ability to delete your own posts, a huge PM mailbox (and the ability to PM attachments), and several other cool features.
     
    To donate for the upkeep of the site, click the “Purchase Paid Subscriptions” link under “My Controls” at the top of your screen (if you’ve donated to the site before via paypal, just let us know what your email address was and we’ll change your status). If you choose to donate to one of our featured charities (which we’ll start with the new modified forum next month), you’ll be able to click the link from our homepage and send us and email with the receipt to get credit.
     
    To show that we're serious about supporting these charities, we're going to do the same thing we're asking of you. If we get some extra money via the Google Adsense ads, we'll use it to support whatever charity we're featuring for the month.
     
    We hope that you’ll take advantage of this new way to make a difference. It truly is the very least that all of us can do.
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